Twin Flames
by Middernight
Summary: Post chapter 700 and beyond. There are certain things you can't get around. Like keeping your promise to die with your best friend when the time has come. Maybe things will turn out different next time. In a future Konoha, where chakra is taught at university and ninjas belong to an ancient past, will the boys be able to understand each other better? Or are they too stubborn?
1. Maybe next time

A single snowflake made itself loose from the grey clouds covering the sky and slowly danced towards the ground. It was soon followed by others of its kind, each with an individual design and movement. In contrast, the earth beneath was black. Large craters making testimony of a fierce battle marred the ground, making it uneven. There was seemingly no life to be found. Trees had been struck down, rocks crushed and the ground burnt. The destruction covered miles. The snow making its way down seemed to cover all the hurt like a bandaid over a wound. Like rain after a drought.

Amidst all the destruction, there were two figures lying on the ground, still clinging to life, barely breathing.

The first snowflake to fall from the sky landed on a whisker marked cheek. The man crinkled his nose at the sensation.

"Ahh... It's snowing. As if it wasn't cold enough as it was."

"Are you surprised?",

the black haired man to his left said with closed eyes.

"It's the snow country after all."

"I guess..."

The men were laying on their backs, not far apart from each other. They had both lost their prosthetic arms and were bleeding out of the open wounds. The blonde man had even lost one of his legs in the battle. Though his body was gradually getting cooler, his blood was still warm and whatever snow merged with the red liquid melted within a second.

Naruto and Sasuke couldn't move. The battle they had engaged in had taken all their chakra and more. It was painful to even speak but they had at least fulfilled their purpose. The enemy was dead and the hidden villages were safe. The corpse of their enemy was no more than a burnt crisp. He had troubled the minds of the peace longing villagers for years but it was finally done. Naruto had lived up to his name as Hokage and protected his people. The only thing he wasn't pleased about was the cost it had come with. Naruto shot a quick glance to his left. Sasuke had his eyes closed and looked calm. Almost serene. Yet blood trickled down his eyes and his skin revealed the ugly marks of violence.

Naruto's eyebrows knitted together, as his eyes followed the trail of bruises on the other man's body.

Why did Sasuke have to show up? Otherwise he was great at staying away from the village and his friends but when he for once wasn't wanted, he appeared as if someone had whistled for him. A jerk true to his name.

Naruto hadn't wished for this. He hadn't asked for Sasuke's aid, although he knew he had been in need of his help. The enemy had been strong. Stronger than first anticipated.

Naruto had suspected this when heading to his final battle. Hence why he had set off on this journey alone, without company. Enough people had died as it was.

Naruto was not one to give up or leave anything half done but deep down, in the core of his soul, he had known what he was getting himself into. He had suspected that he might not come out of it alive. He had been ready.

As long as he knew the purpose he was willing to embrace the consequences. Knowing the others to be safe, he would gladly have embraced death on his own.

Yet Sasuke had appeared.

Naruto averted his gaze once again to the sky.

"Sakura is way late.",

Naruto said and sniveled from the cold, wishing he could move his arm to wipe his nose. If he didn't die from blood loss he'd surely get leucemia.

"I don't think Sakura will be able to make it, this time around.",

Sasuke replied. Naruto tried to smile.

"Yeah... shit..."

They stayed silent for a moment, watching the snow quietly gather around them. Soon the landscape was covered in a thin, white carpet. It was slowly hiding the abuse the land had suffered and tried to cover the boys as well but the remaining warmth, however cold they felt, still kept the snow at bay.

Naruto followed the falling snowflakes above with his eyes.

"Hey... ",

he finally said, breaking the silence. Sasuke made a sound, indicating that he was listening.

"...if you had a second chance... would you have done anything... differently?"

It was out. The question Naruto had long been meaning to ask but always had postponed. Maybe he had never thought of it as important or maybe he had been scared of knowing the answer. Still the time to ask had come. If he hadn't acknowledged it before, then this question was the acceptance of the fate they were facing. The closure.

Sasuke didn't answer right away but when Naruto glanced over to him he could see that Sasuke had opened his eyes, observing the grey sky above, contemplating.

"No...",

Sasuke spoke slowly but with a tone that showed his resolution.

"Not under the same circumstances.",

If Naruto wasn't in so much physical pain he would have nodded at this.

Not under the same circumstances...

That made sense. This was the life they had been born into and they had in turn reacted to it. There wasn't much to it. There was no if and when. Everything they had done had led them to this moment. He had always made a big deal out of asking Sasuke this question and now that he had his answer it seemed ridiculously obvious. What had he even expected...?

Naruto allowed his gaze to return to the sky.

He didn't see how Sasuke opened his mouth to speak again, only to press his lips into a thin line.

A quiet moment passed.

"How about you?"

Sasuke's counter question wasn't unexpected but Naruto still took his time before he replied.

"Me neither.",

He finally said.

"I don't regret anyhing but I wish I could have remained a bit longer. Bolt and Himawari still have so much to learn."

At the thought of his children a dull throb pierced through Naruto's heart that had nothing to do with the physical pain. He saw the faces of the two rascals in his mind. They were teenagers by now. Almost adults but could anything really prepare them for this? Naruto had said goodbye with a smile on his face and left them in the unknown. Maybe it had been cruel of him but he didn't want their parting to be filled with sorrow. Also, they would have tried to stop him and Bolt would have tried to mask his bawling face, which always looked ridiculous when he cried.

"Especially Bolt.",

he added with a sad smile.

"Well, he is like you so that's a given."

"You ass."

Despite Sasuke's mean comment, a slight chuckle shook Naruto's body. They were rivals even when it came to their kids.

The chuckle quickly turned into coughing and Naruto felt a sharp pain in his chest, before the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. He gagged and his coughs created small bubbles before the blood finally escaped from the corner of his mouth to run down his cheek and jaw line. He tried to even his breathing again.  
>A smile tugged on his lips.<p>

"... we really are dying, aren't we...?"

"Hn..."

Depsite the pain, Naruto chuckled again as a memory pushed through his subconscious.

"Hey Sasuke. This is like I predicted, remember?"

He saw himself and Sasuke as teenagers again. Sixteen years old, standing on water. Blood running down Sasuke's left eye and the sting he himself had felt on his right cheek from the poisonous kunai cut. The words they had spoken and the shocked look on Sasuke's face at that time. Their exchange of fists.

"In the end we really are dying together."

"Whatever you say is more like a curse than a prediction."

Naruto could tell from the tone of his voice that Sasuke was dwelling on the same memory. Though sounding exasperated, his voice was soft.

Although it was freezing cold and his limbs frozen numb, Naruto felt strangely warm inside. It was a weird, content feeling, ridding him of any pain and fear he had felt.

He wasn't alone in this.

A small grin tugged at his lips. He knew he was being a hypocrite. He had been kicking, screaming and cursing at Sasuke for showing up at the battle field earlier. He had been furious at Sasuke's intervention and yet...

"Hey Sasuke.",

Naruto said, closing his eyes to rest them for a bit.

"I'm glad you're here."

Silence fell upon them once more.

The snow continued its graceful dance, neverending. Sasuke observed the falling snowflakes with tired eyes. He slowly parted his dry lips.

"... Maybe...",

he started with hesitance in his voice.

"...if things... had been different..."

He stopped himself from talking, not sure how to put his thoughts into words but Naruto didn't press him to continue either way.

"Naruto?"

Sasuke tipped his head to the right, directing his ebony eyes to the man next to him. Naruto was quiet and had his eyes closed. No breath escaped through his lips anymore and his chest wasn't moving.

Sasuke gave a small scoff.

"Don't die when someone is talking to you."

There was no reply, no yelling or retort but there was no need. Sasuke could already imagine what Naruto would have said. Well, maybe not... After all, Naruto had always been full of surprises.

Sasuke silently looked at Naruto's still form. The only thing moving was his blond hair, softly tugged at by a passing breeze. Hadn't it been for the blue spots on his skin and lack of breath, Sasuke would have thought that Naruto was simply sleeping.

It was as if the blond would jump up at any second to talk about going to Ichiraku's for breakfast.

But he didn't.

Sasuke's fingers twitched as he tried to move them. It was painful and his arm felt as heavy as lead but he was determined to see his will through. With huge effort, his arm started to inch closer to Naruto, bit by bit, pushing through the snow that had gathered around them. He had stopped shivering long ago and the pain and cold had made his fingers numb and unfeeling. Still they reached their goal. Naruto's hand was as cold as ice but that didn't bother him. Trembling from the effort, Sasuke extended his index and middle finger and wrapped them around Naruto's. There they remained.

Darkness started to descend upon him but it had nothing to do with the weather or time of day. Sasuke's vision was blurry. The intense fight and extensive use of sharingan had rendered him nearly blind but he kept his gaze firmly on Naruto's face as long as his vision allowed him to. Even when darkness claimed his sight, the picture of Naruto remained within him. In front of his inner eye, Sasuke could still see the whisker marked cheeks, the blond locks, the foxy grin and the determined, sky blue eyes.

_We'll be able to truly understand each other in the next world._

Unwillingly Sasuke started to smile back at the grinning, sixteen year old Naruto in his mind.

"Next world, huh?"

Sasuke inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. There was no need to see anymore.

The cold had numbed his body to the point that pain couldn't reach him anymore.

He still felt Naruto's fingers though and his grip around them tightened.

_If possible I'd like to meet you there._

The snow gathered around but the freezing temperature didn't bother the two men anymore. They were beyond feeling cold or pain. Only hours later would they be found under the snow by their griefstruck comrades, their fingers still interwined.

_Maybe things will be different next time._

**A/N: **

**And let the AU fan fictions begin~**  
><strong>So, I was pretty upset about the last Naruto chapter for a number of reasons and I wondered how I could somewhat fix things in my headcanon. Then I remembered that it was simple and pretty much handed to me by Naruto himself. Naruto said he'd die with Sasuke so they could understand each other in the next world. They have the strongest bond in the series and are pretty much twinflames. Souls and reincarnation actually seem to be a thing in the Naruto world and soulmates always find each other in one way or another.<strong>  
><strong>Things didn't work out romantcally between them in the ninja world but if they truly have this strong bond, then there is no way they won't meet again in a different life and who knows? Maybe things turn out different then. Maybe romantic love isn't out of the question when they don't have to feel pressure about reviving their clans.<strong>

**So please don't see this fan fiction as an ending but as a beginning of a new story involving our favourite pair of idiots. **

**You can see this story as a prologue to AU SasuNaru fan fictions but I will add add my own "AU" to it as well. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Another beginning

"...to..."

the voice sounded distant, as if calling from the other side of a wall.

"...ruto..."

Who was it?

He was still in darkness and did not want to respond. He simply wanted to slide deeper into sweet oblivion. Back into endless sleep. He was so tired...

"Naruto..."

Naruto grunted and tried to turn himself away from the sound, away from life.

Next thing he knew, someone pulled the ground from underneath him and the world fell onto its head.

"NARUTO! You get up at ONCE or I swear, I'll give you a real reason to be late for class!"

Scratch that. The world hadn't fallen on its head, he had. Or rather, on his face.

Naruto layed sprawled on the floor in his room, next to his bed. Leave it to him to fall on the wooden floor instead of the soft carpet. His mom stood towering above him, one hand against her hip, the other holding his blanket.

Any thoughts of sleep had vanished from Naruto's mind. He slowly rose into a sitting position and moaned from the pain.

"Ow...Mom!"

Rubbing his pounding head, he glared up at his mother with an upset expression on his face.

"That hurt! Can't you wake me up like a normal person?"

Though not very tall, his mother was awfully intimidating. Especially when he was sitting and she was able to look down at him from a standing position. He had inherited some of her facial features, like her nose and shape of the eyes but otherwise they looked quite different.

She snorted and crossed her arms at her son.

"Only if you could wake up like one. And don't make that ugly face!"

"You're one to talk...",

Naruto mumbled under his breath, as his mom's irritated grimace mirrored his own quite well.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

She eyed him suspiciously for a while. Then she sighed and started walking out the door.

"Breakfast is ready. Hurry up and get dressed. Your alarm rang half an hour ago."

Naruto yawned and let a hand slide under his old t-shirt to scratch an itch.

"Really? I didn't hear a thing. What time is it, anyway...?"

His sleepy eyes wandered to the clock on the orange wall. Suddenly he froze, his mouth still half open in a yawn. Naruto's eyes widened and he jumped up with a horrorfied shriek. He immediately ran to his closet and started hunting for a clean pair of boxers, throwing old laundry behind him on the floor in his hurry. He cursed.

"Dammit, mom! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!"

His mother's voice rang from the staircase she was descending.

"I tried!"

Frantically running around his room to gather up fresh clothes, Naruto was too busy to notice the new presence entering his room.

"Haha! Leave it to you to be late for your first day in college."

Isao, his older brother, leaned against the doorframe, munched on some dry cereals and looked amused at Naruto's panic. Like Naruto, he had spiky hair but it was way shorter and of the same red color as their mother's.

Naruto only shot him a quick look, not easing his efforts on gathering up some clothes to wear.

"You're still home?"

Isao grinned and curled his toes inside his monster slippers, feeling smug.

"No classes today."

"Social science students sure have it nice.",

Naruto muttered, while digging through his cupboard.

"Have you seen my hoodie?",

he asked in vain. They never kept track on each other's belongings, especially since both of them were so disorganized. Isao was even worse than Naruto.

"Which one?",

Isao asked.

"The orange one with a spiral."

"Have you checked the laundry?"

"It can't be there. I remember specifically fetching it from the dryer yesterday, so I could wear it today."

"That's weird."

Isao muttered and made a puzzled face.

"I guess...",

he started in a monotone voice and started sniffing the air. Naruto froze and stopped his digging.

"...something smells..."

The younger boy slowly turned around to face his older brother and dangerously narrowed his eyes.

"Don't.",

Naruto hissed with a warning in his voice. Isao already took a precautious step out of the room and grinned ferociously.

"Something smells..."

"Don't say it."

"...fishy."

The red mop of hair dissappeared around in corner just in time to evade the pillow being hurled at him with full force.

Within ten minutes, Naruto had dressed, brushed his teeth and run out of the door. There had been no time to wash his face or to eat breakfast at home but his mother hadn't let him slip out without at least taking a sandwich with him to eat on the way.

Outside, the weather was beautiful. The sky was clear blue with only a few white clouds to cast weak shadows on the ground. The trees were dressed in thick, green leaves and the singing of birds filled the air but Naruto didn't have time to relish in the beautiful morning.

He spurted down the streets and tried his best to not bump into anyone. He was quick on foot and prefered walking over local transportation. He had grown up in this city and knew all the best shortcuts to reach his destinations. No bus could climb over walls or go through parks, the way he could.

"Sorry!",

Naruto called over his shoulder to an older lady, he had nearly bumped into in his hurry. While running, Naruto glanced down at his wristwatch. He couldn't afford to be late today. He jumped over a fence, that brought him from the park to the main street again. He was quite out of breath by now but didn't slow down. He could still make it if he set his mind to it.

Suddenly the air got cooler as his steps led him into the shadow of the mountain overlooking the old town of the city. While running, Naruto glanced up at the ten faces carved into the ancient stone. No one knew exactly how old the monuments were but it was believed that they were created under the age of the shinobi wars. Each carved face had it's own myths and legends surrounding it, one more fascinating and absurd than the other. Naruto's eyes hovered over one in particular. The seventh from the left. Part of it had been blown away during an ancient battle but most of it was still somewhat visible. As a child, he had always begged his parents to tell him more about that specific monument. Maybe because it had the weirdest legends surrounding it. Partly, because his parents had given Naruto the same name as the legendary seventh hokage. At least that's what they had told him. Isao was still insisting that the reason for Naruto's name was his resemblance with the fish cakes used for ramen. Hence the bad pun jokes. Unfortunately for Naruto, their father had the same bad taste in humor as Isao and so it was a running gag in the family.

Nowadays, 'hokage' was simply a title of honor. Like most other states of their time, the fire country had a president and they sure as hell did not carve his or her face into the mountain. Isao's name had been inspired by the fire country's very first president.

Yeah, sure. Give him the badass name of the president and call the second son fish cake.

"I'm gonna sue them all, goddammit.",

Naruto brooded to himself while leaving the Hokage mountain behind him, spurting towards his destination.

Konoha had bloomed into a modern, big city. In contrast, the area beneath the mountains still looked old. The old town was an area of conservation in order to preserve the old history of its time as a hidden village. The urbanization and wars had kind of made it difficult to keep the place hidden to outsiders. Especially the hokage mountain attracted a lot of tourists, interested in the old ways of the ninja and you could find a lot of souvenir shops at the base of it. Of course, there were no real ninjas anymore. Technology had taken over the world and chakra was carefully regulated by the gowernment. You needed a license to use it and so 'chakra and chi science' became a popular course to study at university. It was essential to be able to use chakra in a lot of fields of expertise. Especially in medicine.

The first sign of Naruto getting closer to the university was the amount of people grouping together. Glancing down at his watch, Naruto grinned. He would be able to make it just in time. He hurried past the slow walkers and looked around, his eyes scanning the area. Finally, he found the one he was searching for. Standing in the shade of a large maple tree and distracted by his phone, stood a dark haired boy. Naruto grinned and made his way to him.

"Sasuke!"

Upon hearing his name being called, the raven looked up from his cellphone and glared.

"You're late!"

Sasuke was Naruto's oldest friend. If you could even apply that term for them.

They had first met in kindergarten but attended different elementary schools and so didn't meet again until middle school. By that time, their teenage hormones helped making sure that they always got at each other's throats. Fighting in the schoolyard was more of a rule than exception and it always started for stupid reasons like name calling and challenges. Counceling and putting them in different classes didn't help either. They always found new ways to provoke one another and ignite fistfights that left them bruised at the end of the day.

It wasn't until the last year before high school, that their relationship changed. The change happened gradually, as they slowly got to know each other but the divorce of Sasuke's parents had also been a factor. Naruto had found him in the bathroom, after Sasuke had received the phone call that the papers once and for all had been signed.

There are certain things in life you can't go through without becoming friends.

"Almost late!",

Naruto corrected him and emphasized his words by swinging his index finger back and forth as if saying 'no, my good sir. You're mistaken'.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pushed from the tree's trunk, he had been leaning against.

"Let's just go."

The campus grounds were huge.

It was a large area with lots of trees, benches to sit on and gravel roads leading to beautiful big buildings, containing the classrooms. To say it was crowded was an understatement. Marking the start of the new semester, a lot of students had showed up. Either to attend classes or say hi to friends. The cafés near the university were cheap and cozy and even if you wanted to sit outside, you could find lots of nice spots on the grass under the trees.

Naruto got smitten by the excitement in the air and started feeling excess energy bubbling up within him. It had been no easy feat to get accepted but Naruto had made the cut. Just barely but still. He was in.

As he was looking around he suddenly remembered another thing he had been excited about the other day. He snapped his head back to Sasuke.

"Hey, I saw this super awesome trailer yesterday."

"Oh?",

Sasuke said, sounding mildly interested. Unlike Naruto, the surroundings didn't seem to affect him. He came from a long line of academics so maybe he was used to this sophisticated atmosphere. At least he looked as calm as ever.

A couple of girls standing close by, cast Sasuke some longing looks when they passed.

"It's hitting the cinemas this friday!",

Naruto continued.

"It's about these alien pirates! They are floating around space, defeating evil robot cows, disrupting the milky way but they pummel into a wormhole and that's when shit really goes down! We have to see it!"

Sasuke snorted as if holding back a laughter and shot Naruto his you-can-not- be-serious-look.

"That sounds awful."

"What?! No, that sounds awesome!"

Sasuke shook his head with a small smile tugging at his lips.

"I've always wondered who would actually pay to watch those weird movies. Now I know."

Naruto pulled a face and scoffed.

"Just because you like weird foreign movies about deep shit and naked people dancing on tables."

Sasuke shot him an irritated look.

"It's called expressionism."

"Whatever. It's weird."

"Hn."

Sasuke obviously decided that it was beneath him to engage in this discussion and so remained silent. Naruto opened his mouth to add another comment, that was sure to set Sasuke on fire but was interrupted by a voice calling out to them.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Over here!"

Looking ahead, Naruto saw Kaede and Saki standing at the entrance of the main building. Kaede had been the one calling out to them and waved her arms to get their attention. She had golden brown hair tied in a high bun and had recently cut her bangs to frame her beautiful, tan skin. She was an old classmate and part of the group of friends, the boys would usually hang out with. Saki on the other hand was a new aquaintance. She came from the water country and Kaede had tried her best to introduce the shy girl to her friends in Konoha. While Kaede was outgoing and open about her feelings, Saki was timid and rarely spoke. Even their looks were opposites. Kaede was tall, sported warm colors and boyish clothing. Saki was short, pale, a tad chubby, had grey hair that passed her shoulders in soft waves and wore feminine garments such as skirts and lace. When she moved, one could see the slightest shade of pink in her grey locks. Both girls were really cute.

In the past Naruto had fancied Kaede a little but like every other girl, she had only ever had eyes for Sasuke. Girls had always prefered the raven.

"It's all in the ankles.",

Kaede once told Naruto when he had asked her about it, but she always refused to elaborate on her meaning.

If it really was for his ankles or not, Sasuke didn't seem to care. At all. It wasn't until high school though, upon seeing the raven reject girl after girl, that Naruto realized how unasked the attention was. He had never understood why Sasuke wasn't interested in the beauties coming on to him but secretly blamed it on the separation of Sasuke's parents. Of course he never said this out loud.

Naruto and Sasuke walked up to the girls and they joined the stream of people moving towards the lecture hall.

"Are you excited?",

Kaede asked with a smile playing on her lips.

"You bet!",

Naruto answered and showed his enthusiasm by pumping his fist into the air.

"I can't wait to start with summoning and all the other cool stuff."

"We won't be doing be studying summoning until next term. First, we'll learn more about the history and chakra control."

Naruto felt his heart sink at Sasuke's input. He pulled his lips down in a disgruntled expression and eyed his friend, hoping he was wrong.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Uhm, it says so in the curriculum?",

Kaede cut in and raised an eyebrow at Naruto.

"Haven't you looked it up on the net? We'll start of with Kaguya and the first ninja war."

"Whaaat?",

Naruto groaned and slapped his forehead in exasperation.

"Ugh... But that's elementary school stuff. We've gone over that subject like a thousand times."

They were in the main building and went through the doors leading to the biggest room on campus. Its size was impressive to say the least. Wooden chairs were placed in a half circle around the podium as if it was a stage. The room could fit up to 700 students and half of the seats were already taken. The four friends climbed the stairs to get to a higher level, still discussing the lessons.

"Did you get the time to read the chapters for today?"

Kaede asked the others while taking a seat, making sure she got to sit next to Sasuke.

"I didn't have time at all. I had to help dad with sorting out the attic and then he forced me to look at all the cups he won in the national chakra ball tournament.",

she made a face, showing how tired she was.

"That sounds like fun!",

Naruto chuckled but she sighed and shook her head, while leaning back against her chair.

"Trust me, it's not. Ask him to tell you about it and it's your doom. He will go over every move and turn of the games and list them in chronological order."

Naruto gave Kaede a sympathetic clap on the shoulder and sat down on her other side, leaving a seat for Saki to his right.

"Don't worry. I didn't read the chapters either but at least I've got the war lords covered!",

Kaede gave him a puzzled look.

"Isn't that for the lessons next week? I thought we're discussing Shinju today."

"We are.",

Sasuke confirmed, while fishing out his books and pen from his bag. He sat to Kaede's left and was closest to the aisle.

Naruto scratched his neck and gave a crooked smile.

"I know but it just kinda happened. I started reading the wrong chapter and next thing I knew, it was 11 o'clock. They are just way cooler than some tree, you know."

Sasuke snorted and looked over to him.

"Only you would call the mother of chakra 'some tree'."

"Whatever. My point is that it's far more interesting to read about what came after. Come on, don't you at least agree with me, Saki?"

The girl, sitting next to him flinched upon being adressed. Three pair of eyes were on her now and she nervously shifted under their gaze.

"Huh? Uhm... yes... that's good, I guess..."

Naruto raised a quizzed eyebrow at the reply and tried to understand what she had meant but Kaede cut in before Naruto had the chance to think it through.

"Don't mind her. She's been spacing out all day. She missed some kind of alien convention last week and got really depressed over it."

Saki blushed and shot Kaede a halfhearted glare. Naruto was stunned at this new information.

"You're into aliens?"

"No! I mean..."

Saki's blush deepened at her sudden outburst. Finally, she let her head hang in resignment and added a mumbled,

"I mean yes..."

Naruto beamed at her.

"Hey, me too! How cool is that? So you like wormholes and stuff?"

She nodded and as she finally met his gaze, her face started regaining its usual color.

It was always a guessing game when it came to Saki's likes and dislikes, so Naruto was excited to learn something new about the girl. Especially something they had in common and which might help their communication.

This gave Naruto an idea and he bumped his fist into his other hand's palm.

"That's right! There is this movie that will premier on friday. It's all about aliens and wormholes and stuff. Why don't we go watch it?"

Once again, Saki's face turned scarlet red and her eyes widened at the proposal. Somewhere behind him, Naruto heard a thud as if a notebook had hit the floor. Saki averted her gaze back down. For a moment it looked as if she wanted to refuse but finally she gave a soft nod.

"Hmm...? Ain't that nice...?"

Kaede had her arm propped on the small tablet in front of her and leaned her head against her hand. She shot Naruto and Saki a wistful smile before turning back to glance at Sasuke.

"Hey, maybe we should go too?"

She more asked out of habit than actually expecting a positive reply. If she had asked Sasuke out a thousand times then he had at the very least rejected her a thousand and one times. Naruto was already loosing interest in the conversation and wanted to turn back to Saki to discuss aliens, when Sasuke replied.

"Sure."

Shock.

Everyone stared at Sasuke. Kaede's mouth flew open and she almost hit her chin against the tablet as her hand stopped supporting her head. Naruto just stared. For a second he was sure he had misheard.

"What... did you say?",

Kaede stuttered, sure she was hallucinating. Sasuke didn't even look at her when he spoke. Instead he had his dark eyes fixed on Naruto. There was something hard about his expression.

"I said sure, let's go."

It took a minute before the words sunk in but when they did, Kaede made a face as if she was constipated. She tried her very best not to explode with a victory cry.

Naruto on the other hand felt as if he had been slapped. In the stomache. With a baseball bat. He couldn't stop staring at Sasuke, who didn't even bother to shake the brunette off, when she started clinging to his arm. Naruto released a breath he hadn't realized, he was holding in. Though one corner of his lip twitched upwards, his eyebrows knitted together to match Sasuke's glare.

"What happened to "that movie sounds awful"?"

"Who cares?!",

Kaede cut in a bit too loud and received annoyed looks from some surrounding people. She didn't seem to care though as she was too excited about her date.

"We'll go to celebrate the beginning of our college days.",

she cheered.

"This is where university life really begins. I think I finally get what dad was talking about yesterday."

She clung even harder to Sasuke with a smug smile on her lips. He in turn ignored her and grimly directed his attention towards the podium, where the teacher had arrived. Naruto opened his mouth to say something but his words were hushed by a screeching sound, which made most students cringe.

"Whoops!",

the whimsical voice of their teacher eachoed from the loudspeakers.

"Sorry about that. Even after teaching for over twenty years, I still can't figure out this darn microphone thing. Anyway... welcome to a new exciting year at Konoha university!"

While the teacher spoke, Kaede made a silent victory sign towards Naruto, sure that he was sharing her joy. He tried to smile back at her but it felt more like an ugly grimace and he quickly gave it up.

Crossing his arms Naruto slumed back against his seat. He felt his excitement from earlier disminish only to be replaced by a feeling of discomfort. He knew he shouldn't care and yet a sinking feeling lowered itself into the pit of his stomache like a stone... This was going to be a looong first lesson.

**A/N: Ok, so I ended up not being able to leave it with just one chapter after all. Partly, because it didn't feel finished and partly because people started expecting an AU. A reviewer even flamed me for leaving it unfinished. Haha... Sorry, if the last chapter upset anyone. I appreciate every review but still, let's keep it classy, shall we? **

**Kaede, Saki and Isao are characters I invented for this story. Though they might resemble characters from Naruto, they are not supposed to be reincarnations. So no, Kaede isn't supposed to be Sakura and Saki isn't supposed to be Hinata, even though their personalities might resemble each other. It just turned out that way, while I was writing. I usually don't like inserting own characters into fan fiction but it couldn't be helped in this case. I can't have the souls of the whole Naruto cast be reborn in the same city, at the exact same time. It's amazing enough that Sasuke and Naruto made it. Haha! Oh, but there is one more soul that made it and I will introduce her/him in the next chapter.  
>Thanks Jasmine for inspiring me to add Isao. <strong>

**I'm not sure how many more chapters I'll end up writing but I have at least one more planned out so look forward to it! Thanks for following this story and please let me know what you think of it! **

**Cheers!**


	3. Double date

The front door was opened and then shut with unnecessary force, shoes got kicked off and heavy steps made their way through the house, up the stairs, to disappear after a door was violently slammed shut.

Despite the darkness pressing against the window, Sasuke didn't bother to turn on any lights. He threw his bag into the corner, not caring that he books flew out to scatter across the floor, walked across his room and finally threw himself, face down, onto his bed. One arm hung down the side and he buried his face into the pillow, not caring that it made breathing remarkably difficult.

When he heard steps approaching the door, he groaned internally. Burying his face deeper into his pillow, Sasuke waited for the sweet relief of death by suffocation that would hopefully spare him any interrogation.

He already knew who it was. He had seen her shoes in the hallway when rushing into the house.

As expected, he soon heard the creaking of his door being opened and how the lights were switched on. Even with his face pressed against his pillow, the light seemed to seep in through his closed eyelids.

A weight settled on the bed next to him but he purposefully ignored the other person's presence.

For a moment there was silence.

Finally a calm voice spoke to him.

"How was your day?",

his older sister asked him. She sounded collected as always. Toshi was five years older than Sasuke and despite many similarities between them, she had always had a kind of patience, which Sasuke was lacking in situations like these. Just like the rest of the family, Toshi had dark, raven colored hair, which she usually kept in a low ponytail and her slim face was marred with two fine lines, one on each cheek, which she had inherited from their father.

She was considered very beautiful by most and she usually attracted a lot of attention from co-workers at the office.

Toshi had graduated from college two years ago and no longer lived under the same roof as either of her parents and two younger brothers but she would occasionally come visit, even though work kept her busy.

Usually Toshi and Sasuke got along really well and she was often able to calm him in dire situations like these but right now, Sasuke wished her far away.

"I don't want to talk about it."

His words came out muffled as he spoke against the fabric of the pillow. By the silence that followed, Sasuke wondered if she had even been able to hear him.

She had.

"Naruto again?"

Sasuke turned his face towards the wall and further away from her, not answering the question and hoped that she got the hint. Partly, he also shifted his face because he had to accept the fact that he indeed was human, needing to breath.

Once again, Toshi didn't say anything as she was trying to put pieces of the puzzle together in her mind.

"Is this about a girl?"

Sasuke snapped his eyes open in surprise, which Toshi luckily wasn't able to see as his bangs were covering his face. She must have seen him tense up though, because she quickly caught on.

"Is she cute?"

Sasuke could almost hear how she tried to surpress an amused smirk and it agitated him. He tried to keep his cool, while admitting defeat by replying to her question.

"... She's got small bows in her hair and a frilly skirt..."

"So what did you do about it?",

Sasuke hesitated before answering.

"I asked her friend out."

Sasuke could have sworn that he had heard a snort before Toshi coughed to mask her slip up. His older sister cleared her throat before speaking again in a highly amused tone.

"That showed them alright."

"Shut up."

Sasuke growled, trying to hide at least half of his face in the pillow again.

"You know...",

Toshi started again but spoke slowly, as if choosing her words wisely.

"...this was bound to happen sooner or later. I'm quite surprised it's taken this long to be honest."

Sasuke's hand clenched the bed sheets beneath him. He didn't want to hear this. It was bad enough as it was, even without his sister rubbing salt into his wounds.

"Even you had a girlfriend.",

Toshi reminded him and made Sasuke scoff into his pillow.

"That was in kindergarten. She was a head taller than me and really intimidating."

"Right. That's how it was. In the end I had to step in and break up for you."

Toshi chukled at the memory and shifted in her sitting position.

"It's not funny.",

Sasuke growled in annoyance.

"Yes, I'm sorry.",

Toshi said but it took her quite a while before her body stopped trembling from surpressed laughter. Once again, silence filled the room. Outside, they could hear the singing of a cicada in the otherwise quiet evening.

"Have you tried talking to him?"

Sasuke didn't reply.

"Sasuke, if you don't do something you might end up regretting it. Someone is going to snatch him away eventually. Then what are you going to do?"

Sasuke felt his frown relax and slowly vanish as he turned his head to the side again. The simple annoyance he had felt for his sister's previous teasing left to be replaced by an emptiness.

A supressed thought that had haunted his subconcious for a long time, tried to emerge from and roam free within his mind.

Sasuke slowly parted his lips.

"...I..."

His door was opened once again and the head of their father popped in.

"Dinner is ready."

Sasuke growled in frustration.

"For god's sake. Can't one have some privacy in this house?",

Toshi answered their father's unasked question

"He's feeling a bit lonely."

"I'm not!",

Sasuke barked at his older sister and turned his head to glare at her.

Sasuke's father looked grim at his son for a moment. Then he walked over to his children, bent down and shoved the dark, blue covers aside. Sasuke heaved himself up on his elbows and looked highly alarmed as his father started to crawl into bed with him.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, Sasuke. Daddy is here now. Just come into my arms and let it all out."

"What?! Get the hell out of here!"

"Why are you so cold towards your old father?"

"GET OUT!"

Toshi smirked, watching how Sasuke desperately tried to keep his father at an arms length away. At least he was distracted enough to not feel as depressed anymore.

Her smile faltered a little. She sometimes felt bad for not being around more often. Sure, Sasuke had quite recently turned 19 but there were times when she still felt that he needed her. Maybe it was her lingering feelings of guilt for not really being there for him or their youngest brother Takeo four years ago. Her own feelings regarding the divorce of their parents and family situation had had a bigger impact on her than she would have liked to admit. Her reaction to the news had been to drown herself in her studies and getting a job as soon as possible in order to move out. As a twenty year old woman, she had been free to do so. Her brothers who both had been underage at that time, had not.

In her mind, she had planned for her own place to become like a sanctuary for Sasuke and Takeo to go to, if they needed to escape from all the yelling and arguing at home for a while. In hindsight, Toshi understood that it had been the wrong decision. By using all of her time to study, work and eventually move out, she had closed herself off from her family when they had needed her the most. Maybe she had just been justifying her actions and telling herself that she did it for her brothers, while in reality, she had used it as an excuse to run away herself. Maybe it was both.

Takeo, who had been around ten, had overcome the situation by spending most of his time with their grandparents. Sasuke however, had reacted in a similar way as Toshi. He had closed himself off. He had become quieter and quieter, the more time passed, until he was like a stranger in his own house.

It was around that time that he would return home from school with bruises on his skin. Though they sometimes looked nasty, they marked the start of something new. Even when sick, Sasuke refused to miss class.

In his final year of middle school, Sasuke had come home with his worst injuries to date. A few weeks later, he introduced Naruto to his family. Judging by the bandages, Naruto hadn't fared off better than Sasuke in their fight. Still, the blond boy had been grinning from ear to ear and though Sasuke had tried to put on a tough face, a certain glow had returned to his eyes, which seemed to have been lost forever.

Toshi smiled at the memory.

Naruto had had such an impact on Sasuke and even now his influence on her little brother hadn't diminished. It was probably stronger than ever and he didn't even know it.

Toshi looked at Sasuke, still struggling with keeping his father's loving embrace away. She was indeed grateful to Naruto. Whatever would happen, the bond between him and Sasuke would never break. She knew they'd sort it out somehow, even though both of the boys could be idiots at times.

Toshi chuckled.

"I'll just tell Takeo that he can start dinner without you guys.",

She started to move out of the room. Behind her, she heard Sasuke furiously calling her name and couldn't supress the small laughter escaping her lips, when descending the stairs to join her youngest brother in the kitchen.

Naruto was standing in the bathroom with both hands leaning against either side of the sink and stared at his own reflection in the mirror. Red, puffy eyes greeted him and his complexion was unusually pale. He hadn't had such dark circles under his eyes, since studying for his finals in high school. He let out a sigh as if he was 90 years old instead of 19.

Naruto was heavily sleep deprived. He had barely slept a wink and spent most of the night tossing and turning in bed until morning finally had arrived. It was still early but he hadn't been able to lie in bed for another minute. It was weird how you could be exhausted and yet wide awake at the same time.

At least there will be no chance in hell that I'll be late...

he thought, while turning on the tap in order to wash his face with some cold water.

Once fully dressed, Naruto made his way downstairs. Walking towards the kitchen, Naruto heard the rest of his family being up and about. At least his older brother, who for once had class in the morning.

"I'm leaving now!",

Isao sat in the hallway and put on his shoes, while announcing his departure. He quickly turned around to grab his bag and cast a quick glance at his brother. He then froze and looked back at Naruto again.

"Yoooo...",

he said in awe.

"You look like shit."

Naruto was too tired to argue and only shot Isao a glare before heading into the kitchen. There he found his parents doing their morning routine as always. His dad was sitting by the table, reading the news and his mother sipped on some coffee, while going through the mail. At Isao's words she looked up to see what the fuss was about and gasped.

"Naruto! You look dreadful."

"Good morning to you too.",

Naruto grumbled, while walking over to the kitchen cabinet in order to grab a cup. He needed coffee if he was going to survive this day. He usually didn't like the bitter taste of it but he didn't feel like he had a choice at the moment.

"Darling, didn't you sleep at all last night?",

his mother inquired in a worried tone. His father glanced over to him over the tip of the news paper.

Naruto poured some of the black liquid into his cup and inhaled the comforting scent. Grabbing a piece of toast, he joined his parents at the table, slumped into a chair and heaved a big sigh.

"Nah, my head was too full of... I don't really know why myself...",

he mumbled and nearly burned his tounge, when taking a sip of the hot beverage.

"College is a lot of work, huh?",

his mom said in a soft voice.

"Weren't you supposed to meet up with some friends today?",

"Yeah...",

Naruto said. The thought of it making his stomach sink. This was the first day in his life, he hated friday...

Once again, it was a beautiful day with birds singing and not a cloud in the sky, yet Naruto had put on a moody expression. With his hands in his pockets he kicked the gravel in front of him, while making his way downtown. For once, he wouldn't have minded a grey sky. Or even rain. The orange hoodie he was wearing was way too hot and he hadn't been able to take it off during the bus ride, since it had been ridiculously crowded. As a result, he was feeling sweaty and sticky, which did not help improve his mood.

This was all Sasuke's fault. He wasn't exactly sure how, but it was. Ever since the introduction day at university, the mood between them had changed drastically. There was no explaining it. There was this heavy tension between them, like a thick wall. They barely talked anymore. Their interaction was mainly forced by common friends and during lectures they'd go out of their way to sit at least a few seats apart from each other.

It had been Naruto's idea to watch that alien movie, so now that he got his way, why was he feeling so little enthusiasm? If he could have his way, he'd just skip it all together, go home and crawl back into bed. This was not the scenario he had had in mind.

Frustrated, Naruto kicked an empty soda can that lay on the otherwise clean sidewalk and sent it flying. He stood and watched it roll on the ground to finally come to a halt against the grey wall of the nearest skyscraper. He stood and glared at it for a while, as if waiting for it to get out of his sight. It didn't.

Sighing, Naruto walked over to pick the can up. He couldn't even went his anger by kicking trash around... Naruto felt his lips turn into an upside down U as he threw the can into the nearest trash bin.

He was surrounded by tall, grey skyscrapers and people walking down the streets. It was about noon, so it was quite crowded and the restaurants were busy serving their customers lunch. Not as busy as they were in the evening though, which was one of the reasons Naruto and his friends had decided on watching the early screening of the movie. They didn't have classes this day and used the opportunity to go to the cinema when it was the least crowded. This way, they wouldn't have to stand in a long line to get tickets.

The increasing number of tourists with cameras were as usual a tell-tale sign, that Naruto was getting closer to his destination.

Sure enough, he turned a corner and saw the skyscrapers give way to Katatsumuri square. It was the biggest square in Konoha and a popular tourist destination because of its history. An old temple was situated in the middle and was surrounded by tourist stalls selling souvenirs. It was a big contrast to the modern buildings, which lit up with neon lights and commercials in the evenings, surrounding the square.

Beyond being a tourist trap, Katatsumuri square was a good meeting spot, since it was easy to reach by most means of transportation the city had to offer. Not to mention that it was one of the major shopping and entertainment areas in downtown Konoha. Needless to say, there were several cinemas to be found just a few streets apart.

Naruto crossed the street and pushed past people to get to the opposite side of the square. He didn't stop until he reached a much less crowded tourist stall behind the temple. The tourists would usually focus on the more grand souvenir shops on the other side and so left this particular stall alone, making it a good meeting spot.

It was a simple, small, wooden stall, which mainly sold souvenirs inspired by the old ninja culture but there were also the regular postcards, magnets and shotglasses to be found, featuring the most famous buildings and monuments like the hokage mountain and so on.

Naruto was greeted by the toothless smile of the old owner. The short, hunchbacked lady had worked there as long as Naruto could remember. He had often wondered if she ever took a day off. Looking at his watch, Naruto saw that he was still early. He'd just have to pass the time by window shopping...

"Welcome.",

the hoarse voice of the owner croaked as another figure appeared at her stall. Naruto looked up and his eyes locked with Sasuke's. He had probably taken the road around the other side of the temple. For a moment the two boys looked at each other in silent horror. Then Naruto scrunched his nose and Sasuke narrowed his eyes in a scowl and both snapped their heads away from each other, facing opposite directions.

The old lady had the decency not to comment on their behaviour. She was probably used to seeing them acting weird like this and so made herself busy by greeting other potential customers, who arrived.

Naruto and Sasuke ignored each other and looked at the souvenirs put on display in front of them, despite already knowing the merchandise by heart.

A heavy silence weighed them down and every second that past seemed like an eternity. If they got close enough to the temple, the priests would probably try some exorcism to get rid of the bad energy they produced.

Naruto picked up a shuriken keychain and held it on eyelevel to inspect it.

"Aren't you awfully early...?",

He didn't look at Sasuke, while talking and was sure that Sasuke did the same as he replied with an off-matter tone.

"Not really."

Naruto humphed at this and put down the keychain again. From the corner of his eyes he peeked at Sasuke, who still wouldn't give him the time of day.

Sasuke looked as stoic and uncaring as usual, as he let his eyes wander over the different charms available. He had one hand in his jeans pocket, while the other picked up different items to inspect them closer. He was wearing a plain black T-shirt with a v-neck and Naruto saw a glimt of a silver necklace hanging around his neck.

Naruto scolded himself mentally. He had had all the time in the world this morning and yet he had thrown on the most unfitting piece of clothing he owned for this kind of hot weather. There Sasuke stood, looking cool and refreshed in a simple T-shirt that couldn't have cost him more than 100 ryo, while Naruto was standing in his warm hoodie, feeling gross after having sweated like a pig in the overfilled bus.

Naruto pouted his bottom lip even further in a disgruntled expression and turned his gaze annoyed away from the other to distract himself with the souvenirs again.

"Would you boys like to try some yatsuhashi?"

The two of them looked up to see the old lady holding out a tray with traditional sweets over the counter. She smiled her kind smile and bared the few teeth she had left.

"These are some new flavors."

Sasuke didn't say anything but Naruto flashed her a grin and reached out for one.

"Awesome! Thanks!"

He barely chewed it before swallowing. He didn't eat traditional confectionary very often but never refused it when offered for free. Especially not yatsuhashi. He liked the triangle shape of the soft, cinnamon flavored dough and the feeling of biting into the sweet filling. His parents had always bought him some when they visited the temple in the past, so it had a nostalgic value to him as well.

Naruto helped himself to another yatsuhashi, aiming for another flavor this time and held his thumb up to the shopkeeper to show his appreciation, while taking another bite.

The old lady beamed at him before turning to Sasuke.

"Would you like one as well?"

Sasuke looked at the confectionary offered to him but didn't take one. He was wearing a slightly bothered expression on his face, which already showed his intent to decline. Naruto cut in.

"Don't mind him. Lately, he's having a digestive problem."

"Oh my.",

the old lady said in woe and looked a bit concerned at Sasuke, who in turn shot a fierce glare at Naruto. Naruto snorted and started to snicker to himself. Partly, because an offended Sasuke was hilarious and partly because of... relief. Though Sasuke had 'bloody murder' written all over him, the tension seemed to have fallen off of their shoulders a bit. At least they weren't ignoring each other anymore. Sasuke was glaring at Naruto and yet it felt friendlier than how they had acted towards each other all week. Naruto shot his friend a grin, while biting off another piece of the yatsuhashi.

Sasuke opened his mouth, getting ready to spit out a cutting remark, as someone suddenly bumped into him from behind with such impact, that it threatened to knock him over, forcing him to take a staggering step forwards.

"Got ya!",

Kaede giggled with her arms wrapped around Sasuke's torso.

"Did you two wait long?"

It was as if a thick curtain of iron had been drawn between the two boys again. The short moment of peace had been broken and disappeared as though it had never existed in the first place. Sasuke and Naruto averted their gazes and the tension returned to their stances with full force as the athmosphere became cold again.

"Hi, Kaede!",

Naruto greeted her with a forced smile. His eyes wandered to her arms, which were snugly wrapped around Sasuke and he felt his stomache clench.

Soon they were joined by Saki as well, who had fallen behind as Kaede had sprinted to glomp Sasuke from behind.

"Kaede, wait for me."

Saki was wearing a cute frilly dress and a hairpin pulled some of her bangs back. She looked cuter than normally and as she got closer, Naruto saw that the hairpin had an alien face on it. A bit weird but endearing.

Sasuke looked mildly annoyed and started prying Kaede's hands off of him. He didn't need to put in much effort as Kaede got distracted when seeing Naruto's face.

"Whoa... Naruto, what's wrong with your face?"

she stated, while taking in his tired appearance. Saki joined the staring party and looked a bit alarmed.

"Aww, is it really that bad?"

Naruto tried to laugh it off and rubbed the back of his head with one hand.

"Sasuke, you too?"

At this, Naruto started and followed Kaede's gaze to look at Sasuke as well. It was true. While looking at the souvenirs, he had had his back facing the sun and so it hadn't been that obvious. Now however, after having turned around, the light reached and exposed Sasuke's face, revealing dark circles under his scowling eyes and a paler complexion than usual. He didn't look as bad as Naruto but it was enough to notice the difference to his usual self. Sasuke obviously did not look pleased with their discovery and the tired shadows on his face only helped darken his scowl, as he started adjusting his bangs, so they'd cover a bit more of his face.

"It's nothing.",

he mumbled in annoyance.

"Let's just go."

The cinema wasn't as empty as they had expected. Apparently people had actually taken the day off in order to go to the premier screening and so it took them quite a while, until they reached the cashier to get their tickets. In the end they weren't able to get tickets to sit next to each other, since the remaining empty seats were scattered around.

"Oh man, I should have pre-booked the tickets.",

Naruto complained, while making his way down a row of seats. Saki followed closely behind with a bag of popcorn in her hands.

"So why didn't you?",

Kaede asked. She and Sasuke walked down the row behind Naruto. They had to opt to sit in pairs with Sasuke and Kaede having the seats directly behind Naruto and Saki. Naruto glanced at Sasuke when taking his seat. Usually it'd be him lecturing Naruto on being so disorganized but now he simply took his seat and didn't spare Naruto a single look.

"I was distracted...",

Naruto mumbled, while sitting down himself.

It was funny. Going to the cinema had been on his mind all week and yet he hadn't thought about the movie at all. His enthusiasm for it had deminished and he longed for it to be over with. Next to him Saki sat straight as a candle, with hands folded in her lap and with an anticipating look on her face. Naruto couldn't help but notice the goosebumps on her bare arms.

"Are you feeling cold?"

Saki blinked at him as if awoken from a dream before her gaze followed Naruto's finger pointing at her arms. She almost seemed surprised herself and a shiver shook her frail shoulders.

"Oh, yes. I guess I am a little... But it's fine. I'll get used to it soon enough."

Saki gave him a weak smile but Naruto wouldn't have it.

"Here.",

he said and started taking off his hoodie.

"I'm actually feeling too hot in this thing so you can borrow it for a while. I hope it doesn't smell too bad."

After an inspecting sniff, Naruto handed his orange hoodie to the now blushing girl next to him. She waved her hands as to ward off his offer.

"Oh, no. I couldn't possibly... you'll get cold too."

Naruto laughed and put his clothing into her lap.

"Nah, not really. I'm warm blooded."

Saki looked down on his hoodie and hesitated before mumbling a 'thank you' and pulling it over her head. She looked strangely small in his clothes but Naruto didn't have time to observe this for long, since the lights became dim as the last customers took their seats. The curtains opened, revealing the huge screen up front and commercial started rolling before cutting to the opening scene of the movie.

Sasuke had been right all along. It was an awful story full of plotholes. Not that Naruto would ever admit it to the raven but still. Several cliché scenes made Naruto cringe on the inside and most characters were insufferably stupid. Not to mention how boring it was... It was amazing how a movie with so many explosions, could make him yawn so many times. He just couldn't get into the storyline or the characters. It didn't help that Naruto was extremely drowsy. He tried his best to keep his eyes open and supported his head on one hand, his arm leaning against the armrest he shared with Saki.

They could have a drinking game with this movie. Everytime the main character was shown shooting his laser gun in slow motion they'd take a shot. Except him and Sasuke weren't likely to have any movie nights in the near future...

It was so dark in the room... and the characters were yapping away about some sentimental shit again. Naruto felt his eyes become heavy with sleep and his head started to tilt further to the side and down.

That was until a hard kick against his seat from behind jerked him wide awake, the impact alerting Naruto into a straight sitting position. After stilling his beating heart and catching his breath, Naruto turned around to shoot the offender behind him a dark scowl. His glare was nothing against Sasuke's though, who was slumped down against his seat, with his arms crossed. The darkness did nothing to conceal the fine line his lips formed or the sharp daggers his eyes shot at Naruto.

"What the hell"?,

Naruto mouthed at him but naturally didn't get a reply and Kaede shoed him off. Turning around, Naruto bitterly realized that the kick had been enough to make him feel wide awake again.

_Damn it Sasuke,_

he thought to himself and pouted in an ugly manner, while slumping further down his seat, crossing his arms as well.

The remaining one and a half hours were the longest in his life and left him feeling more drained than before. The dimmed lights had constantly lulled him into a state of being half-asleep and yet everytime he was about to fall into slumber, his seat had received a harsh kick, forcing him to stay awake.

Naruto did not need a mirror to know that he looked worse than before. The bags under his eyes were surely big enough to use for grocery shopping by now.

One who did not share his sentiments regarding the movie, was Saki. She came out of the theater with rosy cheeks and starry eyes, showing a whole new side of her. Instead of her usual timid self, she seemed to have blossomed over the span of two hours. Her admiration and praise for the alien-cow-story knew no limits and she started analyzing bits and details of the movie, Naruto didn't even remember or maybe hadn't found important enough to notice.

"... and did you see that some of the aliens just vanished halfway through the second battle? At first I thought it might have been a mistake of the movie makers but then I realized, maybe they disappeared into the atomic matter!"

Naruto yawned as he followed his friends out into the lights again, not really understanding what Saki was babbling about.

"Sasuke knows a lot about atomic matter.",

Kaede said and made Saki snap her head to said know-it-all with enthusiasm. She hurried to walk next to him before bombing him with new questions and theories, making Naruto and Kaede fall behind.

"You do? Then what do you think about my theory of the aliens consisting of the same material as the subatomic matter and so being able to merge into the atomic matter to hide?"

Naruto had no idea what she was talking about and he didn't care. He was still too annoyed with Sasuke to even listen to anything being said. He glared at Sasuke's back and opened his mouth to yell at him, when a strong tug on his sleeve pulled Naruto around the nearest corner.

Stunned, Naruto found himself in a smaller hallway, with either arm leaning against the wall, Kaede between them.

"Kaede? Wha-?!"

Kaede shushed him by putting a hand on his mouth.

"Not so loud or they'll notice."

Naruto looked at her with confusion in his eyes, as Kaede peeked around the corner to look after Sasuke and Saki. She smirked.

"Great, they haven't noticed."

She removed her hand from his mouth and Naruto gave her a puzzled look.

"What are we doing?",

he asked. Kaede turned her attention back to him with a smug smile of victory.

"I think we should leave the two of them alone for a while."

If Kaede thought, she had explained anything with that one sentence, she was wrong. Naruto looked at her with a dumb expression on his face, waiting for her to continue. She didn't and so Naruto had to ask her again.

"Uhh... why?"

Pushing Naruto a bit further away from her to get some personal space back, Kaede rolled her eyes at him.

"Uhm, hellooo? Because Sasuke likes Saki."

It took a while for that to sink in and even when it did, Naruto just felt more confused than ever. Seeing Naruto's blank expression, Kaede obviously understood that she had lost him. She snickered at his face and looked more smug than ever. She placed one hand on her hip and started explaining.

"Come on, Naruto. Think! This whole ordeal with the two of you started when you asked Saki out on monday. You and Sasuke, usually have this rivalry thing going on, I know, but this is different. I think he might be into her."

Naruto felt his lips twitch upwards and an awkward broken laugh emerged him. That was just silly.

"Ha! Haha... You serious? Sasuke? Haha. No way, that was just... He's just..."

Kaede raised an eyebrow at Naruto, waiting for him to complete his sentence. He tried coming up with a comeback, he really did, but his mind wouldn't cooperate with him for some reason. It was a complete blank. Kaede gave him a knowing look, sure of herself. Naruto felt his smile being wiped off his face.

"Really...?",

he asked in shock. Kaede nodded and gave him a weak smile.

"You should have seen his face when you offered her your sweater earlier."

Naruto wanted to say something but he only managed to open and close his mouth like a fish as pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. For a moment he didn't see Kaede, even though she was standing right in front of him. He saw Saki and Sasuke walking away together, disappearing into the crowds, talking about things Naruto didn't understand much about.

"Naruto?"

Kaede's voice brought him back to her and he noticed the concerned look on her face.

"What's wrong? You look..."

Naruto gave her a blank stare.

"...upset...",

she finished. Suddenly she gasped and stared at him with horror.

"Don't tell me..."

For a second, fear rose within Naruto. Kaede pointed at him.

"...you actually liked Saki too!"

For some reason, and he couldn't explain it to himself, he was relieved, that she mentioned Saki's name. In the back of his mind, he had expected her to ask him about someone else. Absurd really. Naruto quickly objected to her question.

"What? No! She's just a friend."

Naruto saw Kaede's shoulders relax at this and she drew a sigh of relief.

"Good. Worried me for a second..."

Naruto looked at her contemplating.

"What about you?"

Kaede turned her face up to him again, looking confused.

"Are you fine with this?",

Naruto finished and gave her an intense stare. A moment, silence rested betwen them but finally, Kaede gave him a genuine smile.

"Yeah... To be honest, I was so shocked when Sasuke said he'd come here with me. I have been nagging him all these years, so when I finally got him to accept I got this reeeeally creepy feeling. I thought hell might be freezing over."

She started rubbing her upper arms as if she was cold to emphasize her point and laughed.

"Anyway, let's get out of here.",

Kaede said and started to walk down the hall, they were standing in.

"They might come back looking for us, so we should bail. I'll even let you treat me to lunch or dinner or whatever."

Naruto lingered a while longer. For a second he wasn't able to move. The more he thought about it, Kaede's words made sense to him. Sasuke's way of ignoring him, frowning whenever the girls were close by, the reason he suddenly had wanted to join in for the movie...

They did look good together... Saki being short and round, Sasuke being tall and edgy. They'd make a cute couple. Saki could talk all about her complicated fascination with the universe and Sasuke would be able to keep up with his knowledge about it. Naruto would know. Usually it'd be him bombarding Sasuke with his science fiction theories and Sasuke countering them all with facts calling him an idiot... Just like Naruto and Sasuke were opposite poles completing each other, Saki could fill in Naruto's position to break the silence Sasuke often stood for.

They'd match... So why did Naruto feel like crying? Not that's he'd actually break down in a full theater to weep like a little kid.

"Naruto! Come on!"

"Coming...",

he mumbled and with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach he turned around to follow Kaede to find another exit, leading to the back of the building.


	4. The games we play

"I think that will be all for this time. Thank you."

The students gave a polite applaud to the teacher, as he ended the monday lecture. Naruto had already packed his things into his bag and was anxious for the people sitting next to him to move out of his way. As usual, they were way too slow for his liking. Naruto's eyes scanned the room for the hundredth time that day but he couldn't find the one person he was searching for.  
>He had thought about last friday's happenings a lot during the weekend. Like... a lot...<br>He had pretty much bunkered up in his room, rolled around, tried to study and failed miserably, as thousands of questions had raced through his mind per second. In the end he had given up on learning about the fourth ninja war in order to head out for a run. Running always helped him clear his head but this time around, the thoughts that popped up in his mind just served to confuse him even further.

The only conclusion he had been able to make was that he needed to talk to Sasuke. If not for their friendship, then at least to save his grades.

"Kaede!",

he called out as he finally reached the aisle, which was full of people making their way out of the leture hall. The girl turned her hazel eyes away from the friend she was talking to and towards Naruto upon hearing her name being called. She beamed at him.

"Oh! G'morning, sleepy head. So you did show up. I was wondering where you were at.",

Naruto tip toed to look past her head and scan the crowds.

"Yeah, I overslept. Have you seen Sasuke?"

"Uh-huh. He just left."

Kaede pointed towards the western exit.

"Great.",

Naruto said and gave her a quick pat on the back.

"I'll see you later, 'kay?",

Before he could run off though, he felt Kaede's hand on his shoulder holding him back.

"Oh, and Naruto...",

Naruto looked back at her mischievious smile.

"I think he left with Saki."

She winked before releasing him and left with her friend to head for the nearest exit.

For a moment, Naruto felt hesitation get a hold on him, stopping him from moving.  
>Shaking his head, he tried to get rid of the heavy feeling weighing him down and started for the door once again.<p>

The campus grounds were crowded, as students streamed out of the main building and into the open.

"Sasuke!",

Naruto bumped into yet another person, ignoring the complaints aimed at him, as he made his way towards the black spikes. He was quite sure Sasuke had heard his first three calls and yet the raven kept walking. Saki was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey! Wait up already!"

Finally Sasuke stopped. He turned around to face Naruto with a cold expression on his face. To some he would appear indifferent. Naruto however, knew better. He had known his friend too long to be fooled and Sasuke knew this too.

Naruto came to a halt in front of his target.

"Finally! Didn't you hear me, earlier?"

"I did."

Naruto glared up at Sasuke's cold gaze and had to supress a violent urge to slap him. He really wanted to shoot some insults at him but figured that it'd be a bad start for a reconciliation talk. Instead, Naruto bit the inside of his cheek and inhaled deeply to calm himself down.

"I'm just going to ignore that...",

he growled. Sasuke stood there and observed him in silence. After a few awkward moments, Naruto realized that Sasuke was waiting for Naruto to spit out whatever it was he wanted to say.  
>Maybe he should have planned out how to initiate things in a smooth way. In his head it had seemed so simple and now he was suddenly at a loss for words. Naruto averted his gaze. He looked at the students passing them, heading for lunch but they did not feed him with any inspiration on how to go about this.<p>

Shifting, Naruto settled upon looking at the ground as he kicked at some grass. He was a simple guy and didn't like complicated things, so he went straight for the kill.

"Uhm... about friday. I'm sorry for just bailing on you like that."

Sasuke remained silent and Naruto shifted uncomfortably. He could almost feel Sasuke's gaze burn on his skin, as the raven waited for him to continue. Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"It's not like we did it to play a trick on you. It might have looked bad but it was for a good cause. Kaede made me realize that..."

Naruto peaked up at Sasuke. For once he wasn't sure how to read the expression he was wearing. It was a complete blank. At least he had his full attention, so why did Naruto have this feeling as if he was digging himself a hole to fall into?  
>Naruto took a deep breath and continued.<p>

"Look. I know we've not been on the best terms these past few days but I think I understand why now. And... well... me and Kaede won't get in your way. If you like Saki then...",

Naruto swallowed and clenched his fists but his determination was back and his eyes met Sasuke's straight on.

"Then you don't have to hold back."

Naruto didn't know what he had been expecting. Maybe Sasuke becoming flustered or surprised or calling him an idiot.  
>But Sasuke remained silent and kept his blank expression on like a mask. Unreadable. Emotionless. For some reason, this made Naruto more nervous than before.<p>

"... So...",

Naruto started again, breaking the silence. Maybe he hadn't gotten the message over.

"...you don't have to worry about us...",

he finished. Somehow he wasn't able to look Sasuke in the eye when he said it and concentrated on his shoes digging into the ground again. It felt like they stood like that in an eternity before Sasuke's voice finally made itself heard.

"You're telling me to go for it, is that it?"

The words dug into Naruto with a sting. Hearing the meaning of his own words rephrased like that made him uncomfortable. He clenched his fists until his nails dug into the skin of his palms. Had he had longer nails, he was sure he'd have broken the surface of his skin.

"If... if that's what you want..."

Looking up, Naruto saw Sasuke walking away.

"Hey!"

Once again, Naruto had to catch up to Sasuke.

"Wait! Don't just walk away!"

Agitated, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and turned him around to face him. He growled at the raven.

"I'm trying to be nice here! Can't you meet me halfway at least?"

"Get out of my face.",

Sasuke growled back. He had cast off all false pretense and was shooting Naruto an equally, if not fiercer, glare. Slightly taken aback, Naruto's eyes widened and he released his grip on Sasuke's arm. Confusion started to rise in him to slowly become visible on his face. He thought he had been doing the right thing but judging by the way Sasuke looked at him, it almost appeared, as if he had insulted him in the worst possible way. As if he had pressed all the wrong buttons at once.

"Why are you so angry?",

Naruto asked, not used to such a genuine look of disgust on Sasuke's face. Sasuke almost spat out his words as he hissed.

"For one thing, I don't appreciate people meddling in my life."

"We were trying to do you a favor.",

Naruto replied but he didn't sound so sure of himself anymore. Though trying to match Sasuke's intense glare, his attempts came out weak.

"So whose idea was it?"

"Huh?"

The question caught Naruto off guard. Sasuke fixated Naruto and pinned him down with his eyes.

"Who was the mastermind behind it all?"

Naruto didn't reply but apparently that was answer enough. Sasuke knew how to put two and two together.

"You're right.",

Sasuke said after some silence.

"Dumb question."

Though still confused, anger started to make its way into Naruto's system. He narrowed his eyes and felt how rage slowly built itself up. He clenched his fists again but this time for a whole other reason. This was getting ridiculous.

"What's your problem?",

Naruto bellowed, his loud voice attracting attention. The nearby students started turning their heads towards the boys, whose words came out more and more bitter, spiteful and agressive.

"You act as if we were out to get you.",

Naruto continued, not caring about his surroundings.

"Kaede did it for you, you know."

Sasuke scoffed and narrowed his eyes as well.

"A great sacrifice, I'm sure."

Naruto grit his teeth, just barely being able to control himself.

"Hey, asshole, she was trying to do you a favor."

"So what, you want me to do her?"

"Huh?"

Sasuke looked unfazed by Naruto's puzzled expression. His eyes turning cold as ice, as he spoke.

"Is that it? You want me to get Saki so, you can get your chance with Kaede?"

"What are you talking about?"

Naruto felt himself once again becoming lost in Sasuke's incomprehensible logic. He did not like where this was going.  
>By now the other students made a detour around them, not wanting any trouble. The people standing at a safe distance started to whisper and cast the two boys interested glances.<p>

Sasuke took as little notice of them as Naruto did. A look of disdain made itself wide on that pale face and Sasuke tilted his head slightly to the side, while putting his hands in his pockets. A cruel, bitter smirk spread across his face and his voice became disgustingly smooth.

"You still like Kaede, don't you?"

"No, that's..."

Naruto barely knew what to say anymore and it had to be evident on his face. This Sasuke was wholly unfamiliar to him.  
>Sasuke scoffed at the silence, the smirk still tugging at his lips.<p>

"I guess this works out perfectly for you. I'll be removed from the picture and then you'll be a shoulder for her to cry on."

Naruto stood quiet. He could barely think anymore. Something inside him seemed to be overheating.  
>Sasuke stepped closer with that weird expression on his face and the tone he spoke in became lower.<p>

"So, tell me..."

His face was rather close now and his words dripping with disdain.

"Did you two enjoy yourself? Guess, things are starting to look up for you, Naruto. You're halfway there. Kaede might soon spread her..."

That's when Naruto's fist met Sasuke's face. In the next moment, the two boys were rolling around on the ground, engaged in a full fledged fist fight, not pulling any punches. It took several strong and very brave students to seperate them and even after, the two boys needed to be held back in order to not fall at each other's throats again.

Naruto roared with rage, kicking and twisting in order to get away from the ones holding him back. He ignored the pain he felt in his left cheek and the wet trickle of blood rolling down his eyebrow.

"You're a fucking asshole!",

he practically screamed at Sasuke.

"Kaede did this for you, so you could be happy, you ignorant prick!"

Sasuke replied with the same volume in his voice, blood flying in drops from his mouth, as he yelled back.

"I never asked for it! She doesn't know me, so she should just back out of my business!"

"Ohhh, here we go again.",

Naruto rolled his eyes and started mocking him.

"The misunderstood lone wolf! No one understands you yadda, yadda, yadda! What a fucking tragedy! You know what? You're right! I don't understand you! No one will ever understand you because you don't want to be understood! You just keep pushing everyone away! God forbid anyone gets too close to mr. pissy prince!"

"Exactly! So, take a hint and leave me alone!"

"Maybe I will!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

They stared daggers into each other's eyes and though not trying to wiggle out of the other's grips anymore, remained fully alert.  
>This was not how Naruto had planned for the talk to turn out. <p>

"Knock, knock."

"Who's there?",

Naruto asked without looking up from his book, knowing very well who it was.

"Your mother."

"Your mother who?",

he asked and finally looked up to see his mother peek in from the door with a tray of snacks. She rolled her eyes and used her hip to push open the door wide enough to step into her son's messy room.

"Very funny.",

she said to his grinning face, while pushing some old clothes, that lay on the floor, out of her path with her foot.

"I have two sons attending college and yet it feels like I still have teenagers at home.",

she sighed, while putting down the tray on the nightstand next to the bed, where Naruto was laying on his back, reading a book about chakra.

"I'm 19. Technically I still _am_ a teenager.",

he countered but his mother ignored it. She sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at the bandages and bandaids covering the bruises he had come home with last monday. She carefully stroked her hand on his bandaged ankle and was pleased to find that the swelling had gone down.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good, it doesn't really hurt anymore.",

Naruto said and wiggled his feet to prove his point. His mother nodded approvingly.

"You've always been quick with healing."

"Of course!"

He gave her a quick grin and returned to reading his book. For a moment both went silent. His mother glanced out the window, where darkness started to settle and then looked over the messy room. Among the laundry that lay scattered on the floor lay all kinds of books and notes regarding chakra, the ninja wars and juutsus. Her gaze returned to Naruto.

"Honey, it's friday. You've been sitting inside studying all week. It's not that I'm not happy seeing you so diligent about your education but don't you think you've earned a break? You should go out and have fun with your friends."

Naruto didn't look up from his book.

"I'm fine mom. Also, it's too late to make plans now. People will be busy doing whatever."

His mom raised an eyebrow at this and gave him a knowing look.

"Really now? I heard that a certain Enmu was throwing a housewarming party tonight."

Naruto turned his head to look at her.

"How did you know?"

"I have my sources.",

she said with a smug expression on her face and tapped the side of her nose with her index finger. Naruto pouted and averted his gaze.

"Damn it Kaede.",

he muttered under his breath.

"Now, now Naruto.",

his mother said and her expression softened as she gave him a gentle smile. She shifted closer, so she could stroke his blond hair.

"She didn't tell me to go behind your back. She's just worried about you, as am I. You should go."

"I'm not in the mood."

"Are you trying to avoid someone?",

she asked. The silence she was met with was answer enough.  
>His mother sighed.<p>

"Well, food will be ready in an hour. Your father's cooking tonight. God knows what he'll come up with this time around."

She stood up and gathered up some clothes from the floor.

"Mom?"

She turned around and looked back at Naruto, who was heaving himself up in a sitting position.

"Yes, dear?",

she asked after a prolonged silence. For some reason, Naruto looked really awkward and was avoiding eyecontact. It took a while, moment before he finally started talking.

"Let's say I have this friend..."

he started, his voice full of hesitation.  
>Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he tensed up and started waving his hands in front of him, while his ears started to flush red.<p>

"It's not me! This is a friend I'm talking about!",

he explained a little too eagerly. His mom looked confused for a second but then started to smile knowlingly.

"Okay. So this is about a friend. Sure."

Naruto seemed to pick up on the sarcasm in her voice, since his ears turned even redder and he leaned forward to protest.

"No! It really is! I'm not talking about myself here!"

His mother started to chuckle and sat down on the chair by his desk at the window.

"Alright, alright. So what's your friend's problem?"

Naruto seemed to relax a little and yet the blush spread to his face. He averted his gaze, while pulling his feet up to sit tailor-fashioned. He scratched his neck, while talking in a hesitant voice.

"Uhm... well this friend of mine has another friend and he's starting to think weird thoughts about this friend..."

"Like what?",

his mother asked patiently.

"Like..."

Naruto shifted his weight uncomfortably, still not able to face her.

"...he has started noticing stuff about his friend and is thinking these weird thoughts. It wasn't like this in the past but now things are changing and it's freaking me out."

Naruto's ears had turned beet red now and he was too involved in his own story to notice his slip up in the last sentence. Naruto's mother really had to try to keep a straight face. It wasn't usual for Naruto to talk to her about these matters, at least not in this way. Usually he'd keep quiet or be over the top open about his crushes. It seemed to be more of a delicate subject this time around and she didn't want to ruin the moment or expose his transparency to him, lest she made him feel more embarassed than the poor boy already felt. She wondered who the girl to make her son this flustered could be and quickly went over all the possibilities she knew of in her head. No, she needed to concentrate here.  
>Biting the inside of her cheek she tried to keep her cool when answering.<p>

"Sounds to me like your friend likes this other friend."

Naruto tensed up for a moment again, as if he had feared and yet anticipated her answer. He scrunched up his nose, while staring at his feet with a resigned look on his face.

"But it's weird...",

he mumbled with an irritated expression.

"What is?"

Naruto shifted his weight again to adjust his position and seemed to struggle for words.

"Well, they're friends, right?"

"Yes?",

his mother replied slowly, waiting patiently for her son to continue. Naruto's awkwardness seemed to grow with every second.

"And friends don't think like that about other friends... especially not best friends."

Naruto made a pause. His eyes lingered on the floor without really seeing it. In his mind he was elsewhere. Far away.

"What if it ruins everything? What if my friend's friend stops hanging out with my friend?",

he finally asked. His mother's amusment started to fade upon seeing his genuinly troubled expression. Thinking it over, she picked her words carefully, while keeping her eyes on her son.

"You know...",

she started.

"I've always thought that if you can't even be friends, how can you ever become anything more? Your father and I aren't just lovers. We're partners and stick up for each other. In dire times you don't just need a romantic partner. You need something more."

She saw how Naruto picked up every word she spoke and smiled gently at him.

"Being best friends sounds like a pretty good start to me, don't you think?"

Naruto didn't reply. Though he still looked at the floor, she could tell by the expression on his face that he was processing it all.

"Your friend should just hurry up and confess.",

she finished and stood up to gather up some of the dirty laundry again. Naruto sighed in resignation, his face already revealing his frustration at the situation.

"Well, my friend's friend is a dickwad, so a confession won't just resolve things."

"Language",

his mother reprimended him with a stern voice.

"Sorry.",

he replied and muttered a 'but it's true' under his breath, hoping she wouldn't catch that. She did but decided to ignore it as she walked over to the door. At the door she stopped to look back at him again.

"Naruto."

Naruto looked up at her. She smiled.

"You should hurry up and fess up, before someone else snatches her away..."

Naruto seemed to consider this for a moment before realizing what she had said.

"It's not me!",

she heard him shout after her but she was already out the door and shook her head with a sad smile. He was too transparent...

Kaede held the soccer ball in her hands and looked sceptical at Naruto, while he was tying his sports shoes.

"Are you sure you're ready to play?",

she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I am! I've been sitting inside all week! I need to run it off."

Kaede and Naruto stood inside the building with locker rooms and Naruto had just emerged from the men's, changed and ready to go.  
>Kaede sighed.<p>

"That's not what I meant. I was talking about your ankle."

Naruto waved her off as he stood up again.

"Psh! It's fine. The swelling is pretty much gone. Look at this."

To prove his point he took the ball from her hands and started dribbling with it. Kaede only looked mildly impressed and crossed her arms, not really paying attention to the tricks he was attempting.

"Show off... I haven't seen you in class in forever, yet here you are ready to play soccer."

"I did some studying at home, so I'll be fine.",

Naruto countered. They started walking towards the exit of the building and stepped into the warm light of the glaring sun.  
>Outside was a large soccer field. Their former classmate Hane's aunt was the principle at their old school and since she knew them all from their student days, she allowed them to use the school's field to play after classes had ended. It had been quite a while since they had used that privilege.<br>Just seeing the trampled grass and the goalposts on either side of the field made Naruto feel adrenaline rush through his body. He was the type of guy, who constantly needed to move, something he had been strictly forbidden to do with a hurt foot. Now that he was fit for action again, he wouldn't miss it for the world. He grinned and shot a glance at Kaede, who looked bored.

"You sure you don't want to play as well?",

he asked her, jumping from one leg to the other to warm up.

"Absolutely. I don't want to die, thank you very much.",

she replied bitterly, vividly remembering how brutally the boys would kick the ball when passing it to other team members.

"Rie is playing.",

Naruto argued but Kaede had made up her mind.

"Well, she scares me as well."

Naruto was about to try to convince her some more when he heard his name being called out. Turning around he saw familiar faces walking towards them. Hane, a fair haired boy with some of his hair gathered up in a high ponytail led the little troope and waved at them.

Naruto grinned.

"You guys are late!",

Naruto hollered without really being upset about it. As they got closer Naruto recognized dark raven spikes and his smile froze. Sasuke was walking behind Hane, carrying a bag over his shoulder and looked disinterested over the field, while Enmu was chattering away at him. Naruto noted that Sasuke too still had some cuts and bruises visible on his skin and especially his right arm sported some nasty blue spots. Apparently, Naruto hadn't been the only one hurting the past week. Good.

For a moment, their eyes met and the temperature seemed to drop.  
>Naruto frowned.<p>

"What's he doing here?",

he asked, while crossing his arms in a displeased manner.

"Who?",

Confused, Hane looked over his shoulder to try to figure out, who Naruto was referring to. Upon seeing Sasuke's cold expression of apparent indifference, things seemed to click.

"Oh! I invited him.",

he explained and turned back to Naruto to beam him a smile. Naruto scoffed.

"You've never struck me as the athletic type.",

he said to Sasuke with a sour expression but Kaede cut in.

"Are you kidding, Naruto? Don't you remember how he constantly won over the other teams during all the sports festivals?",

Naruto grimaced and turned his face to look at Kaede.

"Who's side are you on?",

he muttered butthurt.

"Is there a problem?",

Hane asked. Scratching his ear, he looked back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke, finally picking up on the dealy aura.

"Ignore him.",

Sasuke said, while putting his bag on the ground.

"He's just pissed I beat him all of those times."

"What did you say?",

Naruto spat, gritting his teeth and taking a step forward.

"Wow, you guys haven't changed at all, have you?",

Hane laughed, used to their usual spats. He didn't notice Kaede's look of discomfort, while watching the boys glaring at each other.  
>Rie, a girl with long red hair, did not find it amusing either. Irritated, she sighed and started walking towards the entrance of the building with the locker rooms.<p>

"Just use that pent up testosterone for soccer and let's play.",

she said and passed Naruto to head inside. Naruto raised his chin and flicked his head sideways.

"Huh! Whatever. As long as I don't have play in the same team as that jerk, I don't care."

Naruto's remark didn't seem to have any effect on the raven haired boy. Sasuke seemed to follow his own advice and ignored Naruto, which threw the blond off. It irritated him more than if Sasuke had cut back with some taunting remark. This way Naruto felt like a little dog yapping away at a brick wall. Cringing, Naruto averted his gaze and took the ball to the field to warm up before the game.

The others quickly changed into more soccer friendly clothes and left their waterbottles at the bleachers, where Kaede had situated herself. Not really interested in watching sports, Kaede flicked through her phone to check updates on social networks, while the others spread out on the field.

Naruto practiced with the ball, trying to keep it in the air by kicking it with his knee. Occasionally his eyes wandered over to Sasuke, who stretched but otherwise didn't seem very engaged in the happenings around him.

"Alright everybody! Gather round!",

Hane called out and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"I think we'll just go with five against five. I know we're 11 people playing but one will just have to sit out for the first round. Since Naruto and Sasuke have already declared, that they want to have a battle to the death, I'll just make it simple and divide us here in the middle. Miho, get your ass back here."

Hane had reached out his arm to draw an invisible line between Naruto and Sasuke, dividing the two teams. Miho, who had tried to sneak over to Sasuke's side, flinched upon being found out and muttering under her breath, she returned to the other team, while trying to hide the blush creeping onto her face. After she had resumed her position, Hane motioned for Naruto to pass him the ball.

"Ok, let's get this thing started.",

Hane said enthustiastically and went over to the fading white markings on the grass to put the ball in the start position.  
>Naruto and Sasuke automatically stepped forward to stand on each side of the line. Both stood fully alert, with tense shoulders and slightly bent knees, ready to take the advantage at the very start of the game. Naruto glanced at Sasuke but the raven didn't meet his gaze and solely focused on the ball.<p>

"Ready..."

Naruto averted his gaze as well to turn his attention to the ball. He was going to win this thing.

"set..."

He had to.

Hane blew the whistle.

Kaede had put her phone away for a while to observe the game. She was bent forward, supporting her head in her hands, which in turn were supported by her knees.  
>They had played for 20 minutes so far and the sun was as hot as ever.<p>

She saw Hane strotting to the side of the field and switching with Goro, who had been a bench warmer up to that point. Sweaty but smiling happily, Hane kept his eyes on the game, while walking over to the shadow, where Kaede had taken refuge.

"Man, I'm out of shape. The heat is killing me."

Hane wiped some sweat off his forehead and tugged at his collar to let some air into his sticky shirt, while picking up his water bottle from the ground.

"I believe you, I get exhausted just by watching.",

Kaede replied, not looking away from the game.  
>Hane slumped down onto the bench next to her and gulped down some water. For a moment they both remained silent, watching the others play.<p>

"Wow, they're really going at it, huh?",

Hane said with a smile. Sasuke and Naruto were racing shoulder to shoulder, battling each other for the ball. So far they were evenly matched and no matter who scored, the other team would catch up right away.  
>At this point the others started looking haggared but the two boys seemed to pull out extra reservs of energy from who knows where. The only one still able to catch up with them seemed to be Rie.<p>

"Like the old times.",

Hane snickered. Kaede didn't join him.

"You think...?",

she asked with a monotone voice. Hane looked at her after gulping down some more water.

"Is it not?"

Kaede didn't reply at once. Her eyes followed the blond and raven boys across the field.

"I don't know...",

she started, lost in thought.

"It feels different somehow. They haven't really been talking the past three weeks. At first I thought it was about a girl but now I'm not so sure anymore..."

Hane didn't seem too worried about it and wiped his face with the hem of his shirt.

"They'll get around.",

he tried to console her. Kaede sighed.

"Hopefully..."

For a moment both went silent again. Then Hane suddenly straightened up and flashed an excited grin at Kaede.

"Hey, remember what we did last time they were bickering?"

Kaede tore her eyes away from the game to glance at him. Hane started explaining, eager for her to catch on.

"You know, after spring break when they had this big, stupid fight."

Kaede rose an eyebrow.

"I hope you're not thinking what I think you are."

"Why not? Even though it was supposed to be a joke it turned out pretty good in the end."

Kaede looked back at the field where Naruto voiced a loud curse, after Sasuke stole the ball from him before racing after to get it back.

"Well...",

she finally said.

"Maybe it's worth a shot."


End file.
